Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when an amended DTZ Pieda Consulting report on the future of raspberry breeding in Scotland will be publicly available.

Ross Finnie: DTZ Pieda is currently considering comments made on its report and I understand that an amended version will be submitted shortly. As soon as it is received I shall make it available on the Scottish Executive’s website.

Agriculture

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current withdrawal of the DTZ Pieda Consulting report on the future of raspberry breeding in Scotland from its website will have implications for the consultation on this issue.

Ross Finnie: No, other than a possible short extension of the consultation period beyond the current closing date of 2 February 2001.

Agriculture

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it proposes to increase financial incentives to farmers to invest in the production and marketing of Scottish berries.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive currently provides financial assistance to Scottish Soft Fruit Growers Limited (SSFG) under the Marketing Development Scheme towards the cost of a marketing manager to assist them improve their marketing and commercial expertise. There are no plans to increase funding under this scheme.

  My officials are currently in discussion with SSFG regarding their application for recognition as a Producer Organisation, which is an essential pre-requisite to their submission of an Operational Programme under the EU Fruit and Vegetable Regime. An approved Operational Programme may contain measures aimed at improving the production and marketing performance of a Producer Organisation and programme expenditure is 50% EU grant aided.

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government to secure additional agrimonetary compensation and, if so, what amount it will seek to secure.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the United Kingdom Government on a wide range of issues including agrimoney compensation. The Scottish Executive cannot decide unilaterally to pay compensation since agrimoney payments must be made on a UK-wide basis. That is why the subject was discussed along with other issues when I met with the other Agricultural Ministers on Monday 22 January.

  The United Kingdom Government has until the end of April 2001 to apply to the EU Commission for such aid. Since the precise amounts of agrimoney compensation available to the UK has yet to be determined by the EU Commission, it is rather premature to discuss how much agrimoney compensation, if any, we will apply for. We will consider the matter in more detail once we have a clearer picture of precisely how much money is at stake.

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance is currently provided to farmers and crofters on lower incomes and in particular to those whose net income is below that of a full-time worker in receipt of an income based on the minimum wage.

Ross Finnie: There is a wide range of agricultural support measures available to farmers and crofters regardless of income levels. In addition, the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board sets a minimum hourly rate of pay for agricultural workers. The rate for an adult worker is currently 18% above the national minimum wage.

  Farmers and crofters on low incomes are entitled to the normal social security assistance. Social Security is reserved to the UK Parliament.

Cancer

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact of the requirements of the Data Protection Acts on the collection and monitoring of cancer registration data.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive Health Department is currently assessing the impact of the Data Protection Act 1998 on the Scottish cancer registration system. Guidance will be issued to the NHSScotland before 1 October 2001.

Community Care

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11248 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 November 2000, how it intends to monitor the allocation of the £10 million earmarked to support carers.

Malcolm Chisholm: Under the Strategy for Carers in Scotland ,   local authorities have been asked to spend £10 million a year from this year on supporting carers, double the funding previously earmarked. The strategy requires   authorities to report to the Executive in detail on how they use their share of these resources. This is being done through local authorities’ Community Care Plans and their annual updates. These plans and updates must be accompanied by a letter from local carers’ organisations confirming that they have been consulted on the use of these resources and that they are satisfied with how the money is being spent.

Community Care

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11248 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 November 2000, whether it will give a breakdown by local authority of the distribution of the £10 million earmarked to support carers.

Malcolm Chisholm: The £10 million allocated to local authorities in 2000-01 under the Strategy for Carers in Scotland for services to support carers was distributed as follows:

  


Local Authority 
  

(£000) 
  



Aberdeen 
  

411 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

378 
  



Angus 
  

233 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

204 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

97 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

301 
  



Dundee City 
  

326 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

244 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

166 
  



East Lothian 
  

177 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

146 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

887 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

70 
  



Falkirk 
  

270 
  



Fife 
  

699 
  



Glasgow City 
  

1355 
  



Highland 
  

387 
  



Inverclyde 
  

181 
  



Midlothian 
  

134 
  



Moray 
  

155 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

283 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

611 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

38 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

274 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

322 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

237 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

40 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

244 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

546 
  



Stirling 
  

161 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

183 
  



West Lothian 
  

242

Credit Unions

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2707 by Jackie Baillie on 14 December 2000, how many credit unions were extant in 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000 and in the current financial year; where those currently extant are located, and how many low cost insurance with rent schemes currently exist.

Jackie Baillie: Figures on credit unions are available from the Registrar of Credit Unions, now part of the Financial Services Authority. In 1997-98 the Registrar’s annual report recorded that there were 124 credit unions in existence in Scotland. In 1998-99 this had risen to 135. The Registrar’s report for 1999-2000 is not yet available but the FSA confirm that as of 16 January there were 138 credit unions registered in Scotland. The Registrar’s report details the address of each credit union but aggregate figures are only provided for Scotland.

  There are currently no details available on the number of low cost insurance schemes available but the Executive is in the process of establishing which local authorities provide such schemes. The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations operates a scheme on behalf of housing associations and approximately 80 housing associations participate.

Debt

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what statistics are available on the level of personal debt and whether any are available (a) on a geographical basis, (b) broken down by household income and (c) showing the increases or decreases in levels of personal debt under (a) and (b) in each of the last three years.

Jackie Baillie: Official statistics on the level of debt are limited. The Bank of England provides details on consumer credit by type of lender but not broken down either by geographical area or household type. The lack of such data is an issue being considered by the DTI Taskforce on Overindebtedness with which the Executive is involved.

Domestic Abuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11588 by Jackie Baillie on 29 November 2000, whether it will give a detailed breakdown of the allocation of the £10 million for refuge development; what criteria will be used in allocating funding, and whether there is any ceiling on the amount available for existing refuges.

Jackie Baillie: £2 million will be made available in the years 2001-02 and 2002-03 and £6 million will be spent in 2003-04.

  Bidding guidance is currently being drawn up and will be issued shortly.

Education

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it is giving to making Scottish history a compulsory part of the syllabus for primary and secondary school pupils.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued on the teaching of Scottish history in primary and secondary schools.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it is giving to expanding the teaching of Scottish history in the school curriculum.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it proposes to ensure that all primary and secondary school pupils are taught Scottish history.

Mr Jack McConnell: In Scotland the curriculum is not prescribed by statute and delivery is a matter for local authorities and schools. The Scottish Executive’s policy is to ensure that guidance to education authorities and schools and the framework of national qualifications provide ample opportunities for teaching Scottish history at every level of the school curriculum.

  The 5-14 Environmental Studies – Social Subjects Guidelines are designed to develop pupils’ understanding of the past through a variety of studies which include attention to Scottish contexts. Pupils aged 14-16 who choose to study history at Standard Grade cover Scottish history in its wider British and international context over a 100-year period of social history. Pupils aged 16 and over can choose from a wide range of new National Qualifications covering Scottish history at five levels of difficulty.

  There are no plans to change current policy.

Employment

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address any future skills shortages and labour market issues.

Ms Wendy Alexander: We plan to extend the remit of the new Scottish Labour Market Intelligence Unit, which we propose to rename Future Skills Scotland. We see Future Skills Scotland having a central role in identifying skills shortages to fulfil our pledge to have every Scot ready for the jobs of tomorrow. Scotland’s future prosperity requires the economy to achieve greater productivity levels than those of our competitors. To achieve this we need to clearly and accurately identify and communicate current and future skills needs at national and local levels. We need to ensure that employers appreciate and support investment in skills. Too many people are without the basic and specialist skills required for current and future business needs. Future Skills Scotland   will have a leading role in ensuring that these issues are addressed to provide better matching of people to jobs.

  Future Skills Scotland will set quality standards for LMI, identify skills gaps and shortages, and ensure that policy makers, education and training providers, and other users have ready access to intelligence on current and emerging skills issues. The enterprise network will manage the new unit to deliver a faster and superior job matching service across Scotland. Arrangements are in place to appoint a new Director in Scottish Enterprise who will head the unit.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering any further measures, other than those contained in the Salmon Conservation (Scotland) Bill, in relation to the conservation of salmon; if so, what measures are being considered; what stage such consideration has reached and what measures will be introduced.

Rhona Brankin: The terms of the Salmon Conservation (Scotland) Bill are deliberately non-prescriptive to allow district salmon fishery boards to apply for a range of conservation measures. The Executive expects individual boards to put together a package of conservation measures which will address the problems in their particular district.

  In the meantime, the analysis of responses to the consultation exercise on "Protecting and Promoting Scotland’s Freshwater Fish and Fisheries" currently in progress, will no doubt raise a number of issues for consideration.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is planning or considering any legislation designed to promote salmon, other than the Salmon Conservation (Scotland) Bill.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive has no such plans at present.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made representations to Her Majesty’s Government regarding the banning of drift netting off the North East coast of England, as opposed to reducing it by the means of the issue of fewer licences.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive has long recognised the impact of the North East Drift Net Fishery on salmon returning to Scottish rivers. We have in the past expressed concerns to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food about this fishery and, therefore, welcome their recent announcement about plans to accelerate its phase out.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has investigated the level of bycatch in the industrial and pelagic fisheries and, if so, what conclusions have been reached.

Rhona Brankin: Industrial fisheries are conducted predominantly by Denmark and Norway and are not routinely monitored by scientists from the Scottish Executive. Both Denmark and Norway provide the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) with estimates of bycatch from their industrial fleets. The following table shows estimated catches in tonnes for the principal species for the period 1995-99 reported by ICES. With the exception of herring, most of the species are caught in fisheries for Norway pout and the so-called "mixed" industrial fishery. In the case of herring, most of the catch is taken in the fishery for sprat.

  Bycatch of the principal fish species taken as bycatch in small meshed fisheries conducted by Denmark and Norway in the North Sea.

  




1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  



Cod 
  

366 
  

1688 
  

1,281 
  

532 
  



Haddock 
  

5,000 
  

7000 
  

5,000 
  

4,000 
  



Whiting 
  

5,000 
  

6000 
  

3,000 
  

5,000 
  



Saithe 
  

0 
  

3000 
  

3,000 
  

3,000 
  



Dab 
  

1,065 
  

2662 
  

6,620 
  

4,317 
  



Mackerel 
  

2,019 
  

3153 
  

1,934 
  

2,728 
  



Horse mackerel 
  

2,369 
  

3332 
  

2,576 
  

5,116 
  



Herring 
  

39,000 
  

15000 
  

16,000 
  

23,000 
  



  The main pelagic fisheries are for herring, mackerel and horse mackerel. The bycatch of non-target species in these fisheries is very low and is not routinely monitored.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce a decommissioning scheme for Scottish registered fishing boats and, if so, when and with what budget.

Rhona Brankin: I have agreed to have discussions soon with industry representatives on a range of topical issues, which will include decommissioning.

Fisheries

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Deputy Minister for Rural Development will reply to my letters of 13 and 24 October regarding the Salmon Conservation (Scotland) Bill.

Rhona Brankin: A reply will be issued shortly.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for implementing a stocks regeneration plan for the waters fished primarily by the Scottish fleet.

Rhona Brankin: Details of recovery plans for North Sea and West of Scotland cod stocks are currently being developed by the European Commission in consultation with member states and industry representatives. It is hoped that certain conservation measures can be established as early as next month.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of EU fishing waters the Scottish fisheries zone represents.

Rhona Brankin: The area of the Scottish zone is 127,231 square nautical miles. The Scottish Executive does not have information on the area of EU waters.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of EU fishing quota, listed by species, is allocated to Scottish producers’ organisations.

Rhona Brankin: Final allocations of this year’s quotas to producers’ organisations are not due to be issued until 30 March. The following table (which excludes the non-sector and under 10 metre fleet) shows information relating to last year’s total allowable catches for those stocks of relevance to UK fishing (sea areas IV, VI and VII).

  

 

Total EU quota (tonnes) 
  

Scottish POs allocation (tonnes) 
  

Per cent Scottish PO 
  



Whitefish 
  

692,000 
  

170,000 
  

25 
  



Pelagic 
  

2,310,000 
  

265,000 
  

12 
  



Total 
  

3,002,000 
  

436,000 
  

15

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a co-ordinator should be appointed to ensure effective co-ordination of local and national salmon monitoring and research programmes and, if so, when such a co-ordinator will be appointed.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive has no plans to make such an appointment. The Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory and Scottish Fisheries Co-ordination Centre already fulfil this role through their work with district salmon fishery boards and fishery trusts.

Health

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHSiS patients each NHS Hospital Trust has had treated privately in each of the last three years and what the cost was of such treatment.

Susan Deacon: The independent healthcare sector in Scotland has some 670 beds, compared with over 36,000 beds (1998-99) in the NHSScotland. NHSScotland Boards and Trusts make limited use of these beds when necessary to address particular pressures. Boards and Trusts are required to ensure that they secure value for money from these arrangements. The amounts spent by NHSScotland in each of the last three years on referring patients for independent healthcare are set out in the table:

  


Year 
  

Health Board Purchases
£000 
  

GP Fund Holders Purchases2
£000 
  

Total Purchases from Private Sector
£000 
  

Total Expenditure on HCH1
£000 
  

Purchases from Private Sector as % of HCH 
  



1995-96 
  

23,3671


- 
  

23,367 
  

2,804,2781


0.83% 
  



1996-97 
  

26,7481


- 
  

26,748 
  

2,857,3251


0.94% 
  



1997-98 
  

30,8711


1,457 2


32,328 
  

2,966,0421


1.09% 
  



1998-99 
  

32,9951


2,213 2


35,208 
  

3,092,6451


1.145% 
  



1999-20003


33,198 
  

- 
  

33,198 
  

3,377,5271


0.98% 
  



  Notes:

  1. From the NHS (Scotland) Summarised Accounts 1995-96 to 1998-99, copies of which are available in SPICe.

  2. From the published Annual Accounts of individual health boards and included in the total GP Fundholders and Primary Care providers line as reported in the NHS (Scotland) Summarised Accounts 1995-96 to 1998-99.

  3. From the published Annual Accounts of individual health boards as presented to Parliament.

Health Promotion

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to make Health Education Board for Scotland advertisements targeted at young people available in more accessible formats, such as with subtitles.

Malcolm Chisholm: HEBS is concerned to ensure that all its advertisements and materials are available in formats which meet the particular needs of the various interests and groups which the board seeks to target. For example, key elements of its television advertisements are designed to communicate without sound. Certain materials are produced in different languages, such as those for ethnic communities, and others in braille and video with subtitles. HEBSWeb incorporates a large text/text only facility for people with impaired sight.

Homelessness

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer by Jackie Baillie to my supplementary question to S1O-2769 on 11 January 2001 ( Official Report , col. 149), how many homelessness applications to local authorities have been made in each of the last five years.

Jackie Baillie: Information on the number of applications from households to local authorities under the homeless persons legislation, for the last five years, is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre in the following two statistical bulletins: The Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland 1988-89 to 1998- 99: National and Local Authority Analyses – HSG/2000/2" (table 3) and Housing Trends in Scotland: Quarter ending 31 March 2000 – HSG/2000/7 (table 20).

Housing

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses were repossessed through the courts in each year from 1990 to 2000 in (a) Scotland and (b) each court.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is not available. Data is collected with respect to the number of repossession orders granted by the courts, but not in respect of the number of houses which are actually repossessed.

Justice

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many registrations the Scottish Conveyancing and Executry Services Board has made since its inception in 1995 and what the board’s running costs have been in each year since 1995.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Conveyancing and Executry Services Board came into operation on 1 March 1997 and has registered 12 practitioners since that time. There are 10 practitioners currently registered with the board.

  The board’s running costs are set out in its Annual Reports and Accounts, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. no. 10585).

Justice

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Scottish Conveyancing and Executry Services Board has met in the past year.

Mr Jim Wallace: The board met on eight occasions in the calendar year 2000.

Justice

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to disband the Scottish Conveyancing and Executry Services Board.

Mr Jim Wallace: A policy and financial management review of the board was carried out last year in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance on the need for routine reviews of Non-Departmental Public Bodies. The report of the review is currently being considered.

Justice

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice is given to sheriffs on equal opportunities issues and whether advice similar to that in the Equal Treatment Bench Book, recently produced for judges in England and Wales by the Judicial Studies Board with the support of the Lord Chancellor, will be made available to sheriffs.

Mr Jim Wallace: Responsibility for judicial training rests with the independent Judicial Studies Committee who are currently considering equal treatment issues with a view to issuing guidance to Sheriffs.

Ministerial Correspondence

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to issue a ministerial response to my letter of 10 November 2000 to the Lord Advocate regarding Mrs S Murdoch.

Mr Jim Wallace: Mr Salmond’s letter to the Lord Advocate was passed to me for reply. I have now had an opportunity to look into this matter and a reply will be sent to Mr Salmond as soon as possible.

Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to amend the status of  sportscotland in its review of non-departmental public bodies.

Angus MacKay: I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1W-12267 on 25 January.

Parliamentary Questions

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time taken to answer written parliamentary questions was in each month of 2000.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information is not available in the form requested. However, the following table provides information on the time taken to answer written parliamentary questions in the first nine months of 2000. This information is taken from the audits of written parliamentary questions which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. The next audit will cover written parliamentary questions lodged from October to December 2000 and will be published in the spring.

  The monthly average of questions lodged in the period covered by the table was 708 and 55.1% were answered on time i.e. within 14 days (or within 21 days when they were lodged in a recess longer than four days). In 1999, the monthly average for the period from 1 July was around 450, and for the period from May 1999 46% were answered on time.

  Number of Written Parliamentary Questions Answered on Time/Late, by Month

  






Weeks Late 
  

At Time of the Audits 
  







On time 
  

0-1 
  

1-2 
  

2-3 
  

3-4 
  

4–5 
  

>5 
  

Total
answered 
  

Not answered 
  

Grand Total 
  



MONTH 
  























January 
  

327 
  

31 
  

47 
  

27 
  

22 
  

7 
  

53 
  

514 
  

10 
  

524 
  



February 
  

427 
  

47 
  

59 
  

24 
  

24 
  

22 
  

96 
  

699 
  

15 
  

714 
  



March 
  

525 
  

56 
  

86 
  

84 
  

33 
  

16 
  

175 
  

975 
  

41 
  

1016 
  



April 
  

238 
  

56 
  

74 
  

33 
  

16 
  

15 
  

50 
  

482 
  

40 
  

522 
  



May 
  

468 
  

135 
  

103 
  

53 
  

38 
  

66 
  

34 
  

897 
  

83 
  

980 
  



June 
  

560 
  

79 
  

74 
  

37 
  

15 
  

0 
  

0 
  

765 
  

211 
  

976 
  



July 
  

290 
  

35 
  

55 
  

 28 
  

19 
  

26 
  

32 
  

485 
  

18 
  

503 
  



August 
  

391 
  

32 
  

34 
  

20 
  

11 
  

7 
  

7 
  

502 
  

29 
  

531 
  



September 
  

285 
  

47 
  

64 
  

36 
  

11 
  

0 
  

0 
  

443 
  

162 
  

605 
  



Grand Total 
  

3,511 
  

518 
  

596 
  

342 
  

189 
  

159 
  

447 
  

5,762 
  

609 
  

6,371 
  



% of Total 
  

55.1 
  

8.1 
  

9.4 
  

5.4 
  

2.9 
  

2.5 
  

7.0 
  

90.4 
  

9.6 
  

100 
  



  This table reflects at the position as at 14 July and 14 October being the latest "due date" for PQs lodged on 30 June and 30 September 2000 respectively.

Parliamentary Questions

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why question S1W-10593 lodged on 24 October 2000 has not been answered.

Malcolm Chisholm: PQ S1W-10593 was answered today.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will answer parliamentary questions S1W-10935 and S1W-10936.

Nicol Stephen: Questions SIW-10935 and SIW-10936 were answered on 25 January 2001.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will answer parliamentary questions S1W-10967, S1W-10968, S1W-10969 and S1W-10970.

Angus MacKay: Parliamentary questions S1W-10967, S1W-10968 and S1W-10969 were answered on Thursday 18 January 2001. Parliamentary question S1W-10970 was answered on Thursday 25 January 2001.

Planning

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9278 by Sarah Boyack on 8 September 2000, whether the planning application in relation to a leisure and retail development at Anchinlea Park, Easterhouse, was subsequently notified to it; whether ministers exercised their right to call it in for determination and, if so, what progress has been made in finally determining the application.

Mr Sam Galbraith: This planning application was notified to the Scottish Ministers on 11 September 2000. The right to call-in was not exercised and the case was cleared back to Glasgow City Council for their own determination on 20 October 2000. I understand that planning permission was subsequently granted on 26 October 2000.

Planning

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11040 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 23 November 2000, how many of the called-in applications in each year were (a) approved and (b) rejected and whether it will provide details of all called-in applications approved and rejected since 1 July 1999.

Allan Wilson: I have asked Graeme Munro, Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

  I have been asked by the Minister to respond. Further to the answer provided to question S1W-11040 on 23 November 2000, the number of called-in listed building consent applications in each year that were approved or rejected outright are contained in the second and third column of the Annex. The number of cases which were part approved/part rejected and those which were withdrawn by the applicant are given in the fourth and fifth column.

  Four called-in applications have been determined since 1 July 1999. These were at Nether Catrine House, Catrine (approved); Rockhall Hotel, Collin (rejected); The Park, The Wyndies, Garmouth (rejected) and 3-7 Blair Road, Dalry (part approved/part rejected).

  The figures are based on the date of formal intimation that a case had been called in. Those in the earlier reply were calculated on a financial year basis and the date when the case was extended beyond the standard 28-day period.

Planning

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11108 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 23 November 2000, how the planning system protects the public interest in circumstances where local authorities propose to grant notifiable planning applications or proceed with notifiable developments which do not raise issues of national importance.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Town and Country Planning (Notification of Applications) (Scotland) Direction 1997 requires planning authorities to notify the Scottish Ministers if they are minded to grant planning permission in respect of a number of types of development. The Scottish Ministers will normally only intervene if issues of national importance are involved.

  Where responsibility for determining a planning application rests with a planning authority, planning legislation requires the authority to take into account any representations relating to the application before reaching a decision. The authority should also be able to justify any decision it reaches. Any person aggrieved by a decision of a planning authority has recourse to the courts and, if maladministration is alleged, to the Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland.

Planning

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has carried out any audit of planning policy departures by planning authorities in recent years; what trends, if any, it has detected in the volume, frequency, or significance of departures, in general or in the case of any specific authorities; what assessment it has made of the significance of cumulative departures, in general or in the case of any specific authorities; whether it plans to increase scrutiny of notified planning decisions and notices of intention to develop and whether it has any proposals to improve monitoring and control of development contrary to the provisions of development plans.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The table shows the numbers of planning applications relating to developments representing departures from relevant development plans, by local authority area. Overall, approved departures as a proportion of applications determined are fairly constant at 13 or 14 per thousand, but there are variations between authorities. The Planning Audit Unit will pursue the reasons for such variations.

  Planning authorities are required, before granting planning permission, to notify the Scottish Ministers of any such cases that they consider to represent significant departures. The number notified in each year is shown in the last row of the table.

  The Executive’s policy in relation to development contrary to development plans is set out in National Planning Policy Guideline 1 (Revised 2000): The Planning System.

  Current scrutiny and monitoring arrangements are considered adequate and we have no plans to change them.

  Development Plan Departures

  




Applications advertised as potential departures 



Applications approved as departures from 
  DP 


Approved departures per 1,000 applications 
  determined 






1996-97 
  

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

1996-97 
  

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

1996-97 
  

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

24 
  

22 
  

19 
  

20 
  

5 
  

6 
  

10 
  

7 
  

2


3


5


3




Aberdeenshire 
  

75 
  

59 
  

81 
  

128 
  

66 
  

60 
  

79 
  

95 
  

19


17


24


29




Angus 
  

8 
  

81 
  

21 
  

14 
  

4 
  

10 
  

15 
  

8 
  

3


8


13


7




Argyll and Bute 
  

58 
  

74 
  

79 
  

140 
  

17 
  

14 
  

10 
  

20 
  

14


10


8


15




Clackmannanshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

9 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

5 
  

0


0


0


14




Dumfries & Galloway 
  

36 
  

38 
  

60 
  

33 
  

17 
  

0 
  

10 
  

0 
  

10


0


6


0




Dundee City 
  

9 
  

40 
  

33 
  

51 
  

7 
  

32 
  

21 
  

43 
  

8


36


28


52




East Ayrshire 
  

46 
  

47 
  

55 
  

31 
  

43 
  

38 
  

46 
  

22 
  

54


49


60


28




East Dunbartonshire 
  

10 
  

57 
  

26 
  

51 
  

0 
  

0 
  

3 
  

9 
  

0


0


4


12




East Lothian 
  

2 
  

19 
  

6 
  

24 
  

13 
  

35 
  

8 
  

4 
  

13


32


9


4




East Renfrewshire 
  

11 
  

9 
  

15 
  

15 
  

1 
  

3 
  

7 
  

12 
  

2


5


11


18




Edinburgh 
  

84 
  

100 
  

84 
  

74 
  

81 
  

100 
  

81 
  

63 
  

31


31


25


15




Falkirk 
  

27 
  

48 
  

62 
  

80 
  

4 
  

3 
  

1 
  

6 
  

5


7


1


7




Fife 
  

72 
  

69 
  

28 
  

32 
  

6 
  

21 
  

37 
  

11 
  

2


6


11


3




Glasgow City 
  

80 
  

79 
  

62 
  

59 
  

58 
  

51 
  

47 
  

18 
  

19


16


16


6




Highland 
  

* 
  

* 
  

75 
  

101 
  

* 
  

* 
  

23 
  

38 
  

*


*


7


11




Inverclyde 
  

22 
  

23 
  

22 
  

18 
  

8 
  

7 
  

9 
  

10 
  

16


12


19


20




Midlothian 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

20 
  

1 
  

0 
  

2 
  

4 
  

2


0


3


6




Moray 
  

6 
  

6 
  

16 
  

5 
  

5 
  

4 
  

2 
  

4 
  

5


4


2


4




North Ayrshire 
  

41 
  

47 
  

54 
  

60 
  

12 
  

4 
  

12 
  

11 
  

15


6


16


14




North Lanarkshire 
  

35 
  

44 
  

42 
  

56 
  

17 
  

27 
  

22 
  

31 
  

12


17


14


21




Orkney 
  

10 
  

17 
  

16 
  

13 
  

5 
  

15 
  

10 
  

5 
  

17


50


26


12




Perth and Kinross 
  

103 
  

93 
  

109 
  

87 
  

34 
  

30 
  

44 
  

44 
  

18


17


27


25




Renfrewshire 
  

41 
  

27 
  

48 
  

49 
  

6 
  

22 
  

3 
  

2 
  

7


22


3


2




Scottish Borders 
  

60 
  

57 
  

70 
  

29 
  

5 
  

0 
  

5 
  

2 
  

3


0


3


1




Shetland 
  

36 
  

25 
  

19 
  

5* 
  

14 
  

8 
  

0 
  

1* 
  

35


20


0


6*




South Ayrshire 
  

89 
  

126 
  

182 
  

147 
  

55 
  

74 
  

29 
  

15 
  

39


67


24


12




South Lanarkshire 
  

27 
  

32 
  

37 
  

48 
  

12 
  

8 
  

20 
  

25 
  

7


5


12


15




Stirling 
  

11 
  

0 
  

2 
  

5 
  

11 
  

3 
  

6 
  

5 
  

12


3


7


5




West Dunbartonshire 
  

25 
  

29 
  

17 
  

32 
  

18 
  

16 
  

12 
  

17 
  

45


32


27


34




West Lothian 
  

21 
  

28 
  

35 
  

43 
  

9 
  

15 
  

14 
  

16 
  

9


15


14


17




Western Isles 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

4 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

4 
  

0


0


0


13




SCOTLAND 
  

1,069 
  

1,238 
  

1,376 
  

1,483 
  

534 
  

606 
  

588 
  

557 
  

13


14


14


13




Number of cases notified to the Scottish Ministers as significant 
  departures 
  


33



 
38 
  


54 
  


76 
  



















Missing/incomplete return*

Planning

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail all planning decisions taken personally by Scottish Ministers, after a public inquiry, since 1 July 1999.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Decisions on planning cases coming before the Scottish Ministers may be taken either by ministers or, under delegated authority, by officials. All decisions are, however, taken in the name of the Scottish Ministers. The decisions personally authorised by the appropriate Scottish Minister, after a public local inquiry, since 1 July 1999 are as follows:

  


Development Proposal 
  

Date Of 
Decision Letter 
  

Approve/Refuse 
  



Wind turbines at Gartymore, Helmsdale 
  

19/07/99 
  

Refuse 
  



Access to wind farm at Gartymore, Helmsdale 
  

19/07/99 
  

Refuse 
  



Wind turbines at West Garty, Helmsdale 
  

19/07/99 
  

Refuse 
  



Housing at Bothwell Bank Farm, Bothwell 
  

04/08/99 
  

Refuse 
  



Housing at Torheads Farm, Hamilton 
  

04/08/99 
  

Approve 
  



Housing at Sovereigns Gate, Bothwell 
  

04/08/99 
  

Refuse 
  



Housing at Shott Farm, High Blantyre 
  

04/08/99 
  

Refuse 
  



Housing at Calderglen Avenue, Blantyre 
  

05/08/99 
  

Approve 
  



Ramp at St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh 
  

10/09/99 
  

Refuse 
  



Housing at Murdostoun Castle, N Lanarkshire 
  

01/10/99 
  

Refuse 
  



Mixed development at Newbridge Industrial Estate, Edinburgh 
  

14/12/99 
  

Approve 
  



Retail etc development at Saughs Road, Robroyston, Glasgow 
  

23/12/99 
  

Refuse 
  



Opencast coal extraction at Thornton 
  

14/03/00 
  

Approve 
  



Retail, leisure etc at Westwood, West Calder 
  

15/03/00 
  

Refuse 
  



Underground retail development at Princes Street, Edinburgh 
  

07/06/00 
  

Refuse 
  



Housing at former St Augustine’s School, Glasgow 
  

14/06/00 
  

Approve 
  



Landfill site at Bogside, Irvine 
  

05/07/00 
  

Approve 
  



Housing at Torrance Park, Motherwell 
  

10/07/00 
  

Refuse 
  



Retail development at Cuckoo Bridge, Dumfries 
  

12/07/00 
  

Approve 
  



Extension to Gyle Centre - Wimpey UK 
  

18/07/00 
  

Approve 
  



Extension to Gyle Centre - Marks & Spencer 
  

18/07/00 
  

Approve 
  



Industrial development at Altens Ind Estate, Peterseat, 
  Aberdeen 
  

20/07/00 
  

Approve 
  



Travelling persons site at Milngavie 
  

28/07/00 
  

Intention to approve announced 
  



Housing at Kilmahew Estate, Cardross 
  

23/08/00 
  

Refuse 
  



Biotechnology park at Gowkley Moss farm, Penicuik 
  

24/08/00 
  

Approve 
  



Retail etc development at Scott Lithgow Yards, Port Glasgow 
  

29/08/00 
  

Approve 
  



Housing at Mount Ellen Golf Club, Gartcosh 
  

31/08/00 
  

Refuse 
  



Replacement dwellinghouse at Gowkley Moss, Penicuik 
  

12/09/00 
  

Refuse 
  



Football stadium/retail development at Ayr 
  

03/11/00 
  

Approve stadium only 
  



Superquarry at Lingerbay, Isle of Harris 
  

03/11/00 
  

Refuse

Residential Care

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11211 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 November 2000, whether it will commission research into allegations regarding the surreptitious use of drugs in nursing and residential homes.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have no such plans at present. The arrangements that are in place and those that are planned for the future are designed to ensure high quality care and protection for all care home residents. I will keep the need for research on this specific aspect under review.

Roads

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make the route action plan study carried out on the A77 between Ayr and Stranraer in 1994 available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Sarah Boyack: The A77 Route Action Plan (RAP) study report was not commissioned for external publication.

  As I explained in my letter to the member of 19 December 2000, the improvement measures recommended in the RAP will be progressed when funding opportunities become available.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of its Water Quality & Standards 2002-2006: A Consultation Paper have been published; how many have been distributed, and what the total cost was of publishing, promoting and distributing the document.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The initial print run of 500 has been distributed and a further print run of 200 has been ordered to meet increased demand. The paper is also available on the Scottish Executive website and through the Stationery Office Bookshop.

  It is not yet possible to quote the total cost for printing and distribution because my officials are in the process of confirming the initial invoice and securing an estimate for the second print run. I anticipate, however, that the cost should be slightly less than that quoted for the Affordability of Water and Sewerage Charges consultation paper (£1,601.49) due to using the same cover design.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of its Affordability of Water and Sewerage Charges: A Consultation Paper have been published; how many have been distributed, and what the total cost was of publishing, promoting and distributing this document.

Mr Sam Galbraith: 500 copies of this paper were printed, of which 480 have been distributed to date (17.01.01). Approximately 20 further copies have been issued by email. The paper is also available on the Scottish Executive website and through the Stationery Office Bookshop.

  The total cost for printing and distribution, including entry on to the Scottish Executive website and lodging with the Stationery Office Bookshop was £1,601.49.

Scottish Textiles Forum

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9641 by Henry McLeish on 19 September 2000, how many times the Scottish Textiles Forum has met to date; what decisions have been taken further to the forum’s discussions, and what measures have consequently been implemented.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how often and on what dates the Scottish Textiles Forum has met since June 2000.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Textile Forum met on 12 June and 12 September, and the next meeting will be on 31 January. Minutes of these meetings are available on the Scottish Executive’s website (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/who/elld/tra_tex.asp). Subgroups of the forum have been working on producing an action plan document for the industry. Plans are also being developed for future support of the textile industry by the Enterprise Network. Further announcements on these developments will be made in the spring.

Teacher Training

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11354 by Mr Jack McConnell on 10 January 2000, in what specific ways the guidelines for initial teacher education require institutions to prepare teachers to be responsive to the linguistic needs of pupils in relation to the Scots language.

Mr Jack McConnell: The guidelines for initial teacher education courses are not prescriptive. The competencies set out in the guidelines are generic to enable interpretation relevant to the particular education sector and situation the student teacher is training in. The competence to be attained by new teachers in relation to being responsive to the linguistic needs of pupils is therefore not specific to any language group.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote the Highlands and Islands as a venue for weddings and as a tourism destination following the publicity generated by the wedding of Madonna and what budget will be made available for this purpose.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The STB and the Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board (HOST) are working effectively together to take advantage of the recent positive publicity generated by Madonna’s wedding. The main responsibility for marketing the area lies with HOST. I understand that HOST intends to further develop its successful website www.highland-wedding.com. HOST is also preparing proposals for a campaign entitled "Romance in the Highlands".

Trade

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5715 by Susan Deacon on 26 April 2000, why it believes that the General Agreement on Trade in Services does not apply to services provided by central or local governments nor to services provided in the exercise of government authority.

Malcolm Chisholm: International trade agreements such as GATS are a reserved matter; the Department of Trade and Industry take the lead. The General Agreement on Trade in Services ("GATS") excludes from its coverage any service supplied in the exercise of governmental authority. Such services are defined as those which are "supplied neither on a commercial basis, nor in competition with one or more service providers". This is interpreted as excluding public services provided by central and local government, such as healthcare, from the GATS since such services are clearly not supplied for profit nor do they compete with privately supplied services.

Waste Management

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which area waste plans have now been lodged with it; which plans contain proposals for incineration; whether any plan proposes incineration schemes unrelated to energy from waste projects, and whether it will estimate the indicative capital costs of full implementation of all incineration proposals contained in the plans.

Mr Sam Galbraith: No Area Waste Plans have been submitted to the Scottish Executive. I am therefore unable to say what detail the plans may contain or what the cost of any proposal may be.

Waste Management

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects all area waste plans to be submitted to it; when it expects to be able to approve the plans, and how it proposes to help local authorities fund the capital costs of implementing the proposals brought forward in the plans.

Mr Sam Galbraith: I expect the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to have prepared all 11 Area Waste Plans for public consultation by October this year, although some will be published before then. There is no plan for formal approval of the individual plans by the Executive, but I will wish to be sure that, together, the plans are likely to meet the overall objectives of the National Waste Strategy.

  The Scottish Executive has set up the Strategic Waste Fund which will operate as a specific grant scheme to allocate funds to local authorities to implement improved waste management services in line with the Area Waste Plans. The Executive has made provision for £50.4 million over the next three years to be allocated to local authorities from this grant scheme as either capital or revenue expenditure.

Water Charges

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11306 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 30 November 2000, how many households it is estimated will be eligible under the relief scheme for water and sewerage charges for those on low incomes in each of the next three years and what the estimated administration costs are of the scheme.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The number of households that will qualify for assistance under the proposed scheme will depend on the charges levied by each of the water authorities in the coming year and the level at which any cap is set. As the charge levels have yet to be set and proposals for the scheme are still out to consultation, it is not presently possible to identify the actual number of households that will qualify. It is, however, anticipated that at least 100,000 households throughout Scotland will receive assistance under the proposed scheme.

  With regard to the administration costs of the scheme, my officials are presently discussing the implications for the billing process with local authorities. It is anticipated that suitable software adjustments can be made to the existing systems that will significantly reduce the requirement for ongoing administrative costs. This is, however, subject to any adjustments resulting from the consultation process. For this reason an estimate of the administrative costs is not available at this time.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Scottish Parliament Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer how many copies of the Annual Report of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body 2000 and accompanying statistical report have been sold to date, broken down between sales to the public and sales to publicly funded organisations.

Sir David Steel: The Corporate Body distributed 1,175 copies free of charge to MSPs, Scottish MEPs, partner libraries, embassies and consulates, councils, police and fire boards, health boards and Trusts and various other bodies within civic Scotland who contributed to the Consultative Steering Group report on the Scottish Parliament. Additional copies are also available from SPICe.

  We understand that the Stationery Office has to date sold 45 copies to the general public.

  The Annual Report is freely available on the Scottish Parliament website and has had nearly 400 "hits" since publication on 22 December.